Published in the January 1843 edition of "The Lowell Offering and Magazine" is a poem entitled "On A Young Man Lost At Sea" by an author credited as "M.G.B." The mournful poem reads like a funeral dirge and expresses the sorrow of a sister who has lost her dear brother. The author writes of how this young man's voice will never again be heard nor will his presence be seen around the family hearth....

A decoration that celebrates achievement in the literary and historical realms, “Polished after the Similitude of a Palace” is the inscription in the perimeter of the gold triangle encompassing a large capital ‘J’ that is Bessie Stradley’s Judson Literary Society pin. The small, unique metal pin has grown tarnished with age and wear. It is simple, yet elegant and informative, with a crescent...

On the November 5, 1863 Matt Turner wrote his mother a letter as he waited for the next battle. Turner explained that the waiting had been on going since the previous charge where the “Yankees” had gained a lot of ground. With the continuation of his letter, Turner wrote of his feelings of foreshadowing, when he said they had not seen the last of war and that another gory battle would occur...

One month before the end of WWII, the American soldiers discovered a salt mine full of gold and paintings that had been looted and abandoned by the Nazis. On April 12, 1945, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Omar Bradley, and General George Patton ventured down into the Merkers salt mine to inspect the treasures found that day. Snapped in a photograph owned by the National Archives, the three...

The model Henriette Darricarrere posed as an odalisque for artist Henri Matisse’s painting, “Oriental Woman Seated on Floor.” As the title suggested, she was seated elegantly on the floor wearing traditional Mediterranean apparel in the foreground while a chair covered in decorative floral-patterned textiles filled the space in the background. Acquired by prominent French Jewish art dealer,...